MANILA, (PNA) — Tropical storm Quedan (international name: Fitow) gained strength but its direction may prolong its stay inside the Philippine area of responsibility and expected to be out the country by Saturday, the state weather forecaster said Wednesday.
Weather Forecaster Chris Perez said the cyclone changed direction from northward 17 kph on Wednesday morning to north-northwest at 13 kph in the afternoon.
If it continues its movement and speed, Quedan will just hover off the Pacific Ocean until it exits on Saturday afternoon headed towards southern Japan.
He said that as of 4:00 p.m. the center of tropical storm Quedan was estimated to be at 780 km East of Aparri, Cagayan (18.7°N,130.0°E).
Perez said the wind strength of Quedan increased from 85 kph Wednesday morning to 105 kph in the afternoon while its gustiness also rose from 100 kph to 135 kph.
He said Quedan is not expected to make any landfall and remains to have no direct effect to any part of the country since it is too far from the Philippines’ landmass.
Perez said that in the next 24 hours, the Intertropical Convergence Zone will continue to bring cloudy skies with light to moderate rains in Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas and Palawan.
He noted that the rest of the country including Metro Manila will continue to have partly cloudy skies to at times cloudy with possible thunderstorm rains mostly in the afternoon or evening.